count to 10 and other stress relievers

we all have stress in our lives, from our house to our hair. it sounds simple, but one of the best ways to put off stressful situations (especially with hubs and kids) is the count to 10 technique.

i refer to it as a "mommy timeout" where i remove myself from what i upsetting me, walk away, take a deep breath and calm down. when i return to the mess or the kids or the laundry, it's still there and still needs to be dealt with, but it is more managable and definitely is easier to handle when i'm calm.

i am a list maker...with an engineering degree, i do everything in order and with structure. sad, really. so here's my list of some "de-stressers" to try and that you are totally in control of:

do the hard things first:

i hate {loathe} putting up clean clothes. it's like eating your peas before you eat dessert. the dessert is better in the long run.

have a hobbie or down time for just you:
i have 4 kids and a husband who travels. i don't get much of this, but when i do, i don't turn on the radio and it's silent. i make a scrapbook page or do a new blog post or sew a little project. whatever it is, is nothing but fun. no stress. read a book or work out or bake something. do your thing.

sleep:
this is almost a funny one to me, but i honestly could do a way better job of making the late nights down time and not computer time or tv time. get rest. you need it.

huge projects should have phases:
in engineering, when we went from idea to product, it didn't happen overnight. we did a phase for thinking and a phase for doing and a phase for production...you get the idea. break it down...you can meet the intermediate task and not feel like a failure while still achieving the long term goal.

say what you feel and feel what you say:
voice {lovingly} your feelings. no one knows what you are feeling but you and silence on your part is showing acceptance of the present.

now it's time to start without the stress...and let me know how things are going. what works for you??


wanna see more of me and my clan? i'm at a thorn among roses.